Viewpoints

Slobodan Milosevic Goes
on Trial

Views
from 11 newspapers

An
unidentified Belgrade man buys local newspaper Telegraf
on Feb. 27, 2002. Milosevic's trial is the top story
(Photo: AFP).

ChennaiThe Hindu (centrist), Feb. 18: Whatever the outcome at
the tribunal, the trial itself sends a heartening message to
civilian victims around the world that dictators like Chile’s
Augusto Pinochet, Indonesia’s Suharto, and all those Hitler
clones in Central and West Africa can be called to account provided
the Western community has the will.

MoscowSovetskaya Rossiya
(conservative), Feb. 12: The goal of this show is to deflect
the attention of world opinion from the true guilty parties
of the Yugoslav tragedy: These are primarily the leaders of
the United States and its allies in NATO, who committed aggression
against Yugoslavia in 1999. It is unnatural that those guilty
of annihilating thousands of peaceful people and destroying
hundreds of homes, hospitals, and kindergartens remain free,
while the defendant under arrest is the leader of the victims
of this aggression. —Gennadi Zyuganov, head of the Communist Party of Russia

Banja LukaNezavisne
Novine (independent), Feb. 14: This trial is a huge challenge
for the Hague Tribunal, because if the prosecution proves Milosevic’s
guilt, then only half the job will be done. The objectivity
of the court directly depends on whether the prosecution will
find the strength to do the other half of the job...by opening
trials against other perpetrators of war crimes [in the former
Yugoslavia]. —Radomir Neskovic

SofiaRepublika (left-wing),
Feb. 13: The tribunal, which in principle is slated to unveil
the truth about the greatest Yugoslavian tragedy, is now sitting
at The Hague, at long last. Some say that crimes against humanity
and genocide in the former federal republics have been perpetrated
under the direct supervision of Milosevic. According to others,
NATO and the Kosovo Albanians have committed exactly the same
sins against the Serbian people. However, only the Serbian leader
is prisoner at the bar right now....So if justice is sought,
let it be justice for all. —Nickolay Koev

BratislavaPraca (trade
union-affiliated), Feb. 13: The Balkan butcher, a modern Hitler,
Serbia’s Stalin—these are some of the monikers the ex-president
[Milosevic] earned during his brief and stormy career....At
the same time, no attention is paid to actions of the late Croatian
president and dictator, Franjo Tudjman, or the Albanian Liberation
Army and its mafia operatives, or the Muslim mujahideen in Bosnia-Herzegovina.
Genuine justice remains a far-off ideal, because only one criminal
of many is being judged. —Mladen Bosiocic

ZagrebVecernji List
(pro-government), Feb. 14: The trial of Slobodan Milosevic should
prove not only his role in recent aggression, but the real cause
of that war....It will become obvious that the war was not a
“conflict of primitive Balkan tribes”...but a carefully planned
war. The indictment would be misleading if it failed to show
clearly that it was a war of conquest....—Milan Jajcinovic

KarachiDawn (centrist),
Feb. 13: On Feb. 12, one of the most important trials in recent
history began in The Hague, aimed at bringing to justice a man
accused of the most horrific crimes of the 20th century....As
the first former head of state charged with genocide...Milosevic’s
trial by an international tribunal could serve as a powerful
deterrent to autocratic rulers who feel that they can get away
with the most abhorrent acts while in power without being brought
to justice.

JiddaArab News (pro-government,
English-language), Feb. 13: Milosevic, like all dictators, was
motivated by a lust for power....However, it is crucial that
Milosevic’s trial never, for a moment, appear to be an act of
political revenge. He is on trial, not because of his politics,
but because he abused his position of power to commit a catalog
of crimes, the greatest of which was to order the systematic
destruction of people of different ethnic backgrounds.

AthensEleftherotypia
(liberal), Feb. 10: Milosevic’s trial will offer solid evidence
of his guilt. However, it is difficult to clarify the circumstances
that led to the bloodshed, as well as to identify those responsible
for this massive psychosis.... Unfortunately, the involvement
of spiritual leaders, scholars, political leaders, and representatives
of the media still remains unknown, although they did have a
significant share in the bloodshed.—Nikolas Voulelis

WarsawGazeta Wyborcza
(liberal), Feb. 12: For hundreds of thousands of people—Croats
tortured in Vukovar, Bosnians besieged in Sarajevo, Serbs expelled
from Kraina—the trial of Milosevic is not a political or legal
matter. For them his responsibility is tangible, concrete: graves
of loved ones, arm and leg stumps, scars, burned homes, lost
homelands, irretrievably lost hopes. —Konstanty Gebert

GlasgowThe Herald (centrist),
Feb. 14: The true importance of the trial in The Hague goes
far beyond dealing with Milosevic....The court in The Hague
should lead to the establishment of a permanent international
criminal court under the United Nations.